I'm relatively new to hunting, so I don't have a closet full of camo clothing (yet). In fact, I don't own a single pair of camouflage pants. I usually just wear khaki. I just bought my son a pair of camo pants for Christmas, and was feeling a little left out. Sure, I could go out and spend a few bucks on a pair for myself. But, I'm cheap. And, I already have a pair of Cabela's khaki pants that I bought on sale to wear to work, but I rarely wear them. Too many pockets and funny seams for the office environment. They just scream "camping" or "prepper" or something.

So, I picked up some green and brown dye and went to work on these pants. I started with the common "sunburst" tie-dye technique. Pinch some of the fabric, pull a few inches out, and wrap the base of that protrusion tightly with rubber bands. I mixed up my green and brown dyes, and used little squeeze bottles to paint the dye onto these protrusions. I wrapped the pants up in plastic and let that sit for ~6 hours before rinsing. The first picture shows what that looked like. Unfortunately, when I removed the rubber bands, the pants looked less like camo and more like I had played paintball against green and brown teams while wearing khaki pants. They needed a lot more green and brown.

So, I repeated the previous step, adding more green and brown sunbursts. The second picture shows the pants tied with rubber bands again, waiting for the second application of dye. This time, I mixed the green a little richer, and added black to the brown, to make a very dark brown. In addition to the tied sunbursts, I also pulled some random folds and drew dark lines on the resulting edges. I also dropped some dye down into the little valleys between sunbursts, trying to get more color on the pants.

The third picture shows the final results. Honestly, I'll be the first to say that they look pretty lame next to my son's MARPAT pants. But, hey, it was a fun learning experience. And, as far as the deer and the hogs go, this is (hopefully) less visible than a solid block of khaki against a forest background.

If I ever do this again, I might try the crumple technique, instead of starbursts.

Camo is a hunter gimmick and not a hunting necessity. Movement and scent is what keeps deer calm. I can hunt in blue jeans and a white T -shirt or florescent green pants and pink shirt...deer wont care. My movement and my scent will get me busted not matter what i am wearing (for the record I do not hunt in florescent green and pink!!!)

It is just to break up a block of same color, but I have hunted many times in jeans and regular shirt. Less movement is way more important that camo. That said, this is the time of year to catch camo on clearance!

The best thing about Camo has always been their Marketing people. They have had us 100s of dollars for years that at least on mammals really only makes a small percentage of difference. Get rid of UV and the rest is moot.

We once pulled in to the lease to find axis milling around less than 100 yards from the house. Slipped out pf the truck wearing shorts and a royal blue tee and she was in a hot pink tee with leggings. We pulled the rifles out and 45 minutes later i was skinning a 32" axis lol with that being said, i usually hunt in head to toe camo with face paint. Kinda like a grown-ups Halloween i guess but i like to play all the way

Thanks for all the kind words. And, I have to agree, a big part of why we wear camo when hunting deer and hogs is because of how it makes us look (to other humans) and feel, rather than how it affects the animals.

Thanks for all the kind words. And, I have to agree, a big part of why we wear camo when hunting deer and hogs is because of how it makes us look (to other humans) and feel, rather than how it affects the animals.

What tickles me are ones that show up in town with heavy starched camo.....Pressed pants with a sharp crease... lmao.

I think that what you've made is more than adequate. I remember my first "camo" shirt was a long sleeved khaki shirt that I spray painted little splotches on to. The girls working at the check-out station at Laguna Atascosa NWR were quite entertained by that one. If you want store bought camo on a budget, check out thrift stores. They've usually got some, and it's often times separate from the regular clothes.

We once pulled in to the lease to find axis milling around less than 100 yards from the house. Slipped out pf the truck wearing shorts and a royal blue tee and she was in a hot pink tee with leggings. We pulled the rifles out and 45 minutes later i was skinning a 32" axis lol with that being said, i usually hunt in head to toe camo with face paint. Kinda like a grown-ups Halloween i guess but i like to play all the way

Camo is a hunter gimmick and not a hunting necessity. Movement and scent is what keeps deer calm. I can hunt in blue jeans and a white T -shirt or florescent green pants and pink shirt...deer wont care. My movement and my scent will get me busted not matter what i am wearing (for the record I do not hunt in florescent green and pink!!!)